That has to be one of the more interesting things I've read in a while because:

a) No matter how good it might be right now, no regional (not a single one) is a "career" airline. In fact, they are not really even airlines--- just outsourced employee staffing companies. This is not flame bait but just an statement of the situation since the only way they make money is by paying less to their employees than the fee charged to the major. In essence, their business is providing lower cost employees to the major. Everything else at a regional "airline" is provided (or reimbursed) by the major: fuel, aircraft leases, landing fees, marketing & sales, gates, ect.... For pilots, regionals provide an opportunity to get some experience on the way up the food chain, but job security is only as good as the current contract. Considering that the entire regional industry is designed as a whipsaw, this is a tenuous situation.

b) Since every regional pilot needs to be thinking about the next job (see "a" above), there is never a reason to wait if you have the qualifications and are going attempt to move up to a major eventually anyway. The seniority numbers missed by waiting for "things to be perfect" will haunt one his/her entire career. Besides, sitting on the bottom of list doesn't prevent one from still applying elsewhere if another company remains one's first choice.